Open AccessQuality of Life Assessment in Pre-Hospital and Hospital Emergency Healthcare Workers: A Pilot Study
Author(s) -
Mehdi Nasr Isfahani,
Mohammad Hadi Hatami,
Donya Sheibani Tehrani
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australasian journal of paramedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.177
H-Index - 15
ISSN - 2202-7270
DOI - 10.33151/ajp.18.807
Subject(s) - medicine , workload , emergency department , health care , quality of life (healthcare) , medical emergency , emergency medicine , nursing , computer science , economics , economic growth , operating system
IntroductionQuality of life (QoL) is an important index of general and mental health. Several studies have demonstrated healthcare staff can provide higher quality services to patients when they have a better QoL. Working in emergency care services has a heavy workload therefore poor QoL can lead to poor quality of service to patients. We aimed to assess the QoL in pre-hospital and hospital emergency healthcare workers in Isfahan province in Iran via the WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life) questionnaire.MethodsA total of 891 pre-hospital and hospital emergency personnel were selected via the census method. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was filled out by the participants over a period of 1 year.ResultsA total of 891 subjects participated. About 33.7% of the participants were pre-hospital emergency staff, 59.1% emergency department nurses, 5.3% emergency department physicians, and 1.6% emergency medicine specialists. Approximately 412 participants (48.8%) were women and 469 (53.2%) were men (mean age 37.72 ± 11.02 years). QoL in pre-hospital and hospital emergency personnel had the highest mean score in the general health domain (61.43 ± 21.38) and the lowest mean score in the environmental health domain (48.54 ± 17.62). Social relationships with a mean score of 53.30 ± 23.56 were not significantly different to the average (p>0.05). Workplace and work experience had a significant effect on all domains of QoL.ConclusionPre-hospital and hospital emergency personnel in Isfahan province had an optimal QoL, except in environmental health. Therefore, to increase the QoL in this area the periodical evaluation of environmental health is recommended. Appropriate training to create workplace adjustment and work experience can also improve QoL.